Form and Power: Black Murals in Los Angeles

Sojourner Truth

Charles Freeman’s Sojourner Truth is painted on the side of Locke Continuations High School, famously named after African American intellectual, Alain Locke. Locke is known for making the “New Negro” movement popular, emphasizing self-confidence, knowledge, and racial pride among African Americans. These values are inspirational in a school setting, and also further bring together the community to which it belongs, which already has such strong roots in the civil rights movement. The mural shows three figures: Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King Jr and W.E.B. Dubois. Behind each figure, there is also a scene in the background that relates to the importance of that figure.

Behind Sojourner Truth, Freeman painted the scene of slaves picking cotton. Truth is known for being a slave, but then escaping and becoming a civil and women’s rights activist. While the mural is named after Sojourner Truth, the presence of Martin Luther King Jr is also significant. King was a peaceful person who did not advocate radicalism, so many people initially did not see him as an influential figure in the Civil Rights Movement. However, in the later stages of his life and after his death, it became clearer that African Americans had respect for King. Behind Dr. King, Freeman painted a group of civil rights activists, marching for equal rights and jobs for all. On the left of the mural, next to W.E.B. Dubois, Freeman illustrated a waterfall that symbolizes the Niagara Movement founded by Dubois in 1905 which was a movement calling for full political, social, and civil rights for African Americans. The integration of these three historical figures emphasizes their importance to African American history and to this neighborhood where they are displayed.

Written by Thomas Bulow, c/o ‘24

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